Impress Me Not: The Handyman

Chapter 32

The next day shouldn't have been that bad for Niko. He had texted Solomon to tell him good morning, and he actually got a reply back. He supposed that, in his line of work, he had to wake up early. Niko wondered how early the man got up. Maybe that was why he was so tired by the end of that party.

It had felt so good having him in his arms, though.

Waiting a whole week to see him was going to be absolute torture. But he didn't have anything he needed fixed. Maybe he could just try to convince him to come out during one of the weekdays next time. That or he could try and spend the whole weekend with him. At least then neither of them would have to worry about work.

It wasn't until he got to his office that he realized just how long of a week it was really going to be.

"Why haven't you been answering any of my phone calls?" His father stood by his desk with his arms folded, with his mother sitting in his office chair.

"I was busy," he shrugged. He had learned a long time ago not to show emotion to his parents. That was how they gained leverage. "Why are you in my office?"

"Niko," his mother's voice was soft when it wafted through the room. Her eyes shined with faux concern. "Please tell me that it isn't true."

Niko had to suppress a groan. His mother was always like this. She always put on an act to try and get him to tell her everything. He absolutely hated it. It had worked a lot when he was a child, but he had learned that her compassion had consequences to it. Consequences that he didn't want to deal with at the moment.

"What are you guys going on about now?" he said.

"Don't get snarky with your mother," his fathers blue eyes looked at him like daggers. That was okay. He was used to it by that point. "I taught you to show us nothing but respect."

"It was a question," Niko said. He hated all this runaround shit that these two played on him. It was all a mind game, and nothing about it was fun. "What is this all about?"

"Niko," his mother's tone changed from its softness, to the usual serious tone that he knew was her true self. "Is it true?"

"Is what true mom?" he rubbed his face. He didn't have time to do this. There was so many things that he had to do for the company.

"Are you seeing a man?" Her blond hair was put up in a bun as neatly as possible. It only made her look older than she was. Everyone had always said that she looked like a stern school teacher, ready to make every student's life a living Hell.

"Why does it matter to you who I'm seeing?" he asked. They never really cared before. But suddenly he brings a guy to a dinner party and it's just now their business?

This was going to be a headache.

"Answer the question, Nicholas," his father demanded.

"Why?" he asked. "It's not like it's your reputations on the line if I am. Why should it matter to either of you whether I am dating a man or not?"

"You're tarnishing our family's name!" his mother screamed. She threw down a magazine on the desk. On the front cover was a picture of him and Solomon, from that party. Niko was holding onto him pretty tightly. He remembered that. He didn't exactly want to lose the man to the mob of reporters that were there.

Man. Solomon really did look great in that outfit.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?!" his mother asked. Her small frame could never be menacing to people, but her voice could. She was known for being able to get anything out of anyone. And she showed no mercy to the one's that had made the mistake of keeping information to themselves.